The Elapidae (i.e. Coralsnakes, Cobras, Kraits, Mambas, Taipans and Sea-snakes) are a widely distributed, morphologically diverse, and highly venomous family of snakes whose evolutionary history and origin have been of enormous interest to biologists since the early 20th century. The traditional factor limiting a comprehensive, phylogenetic appraisal of the Elapidae has been the availability of samples of Old World Coralsnakes. Usually small, shy and fossorial, these animals are amongst the rarest venomous Asian snakes and their sampling, especially in molecular studies, has been sparse until now. Equipped with the most complete sampling of Old World Coralsnakes to-date, our research is for the first time investigating aspects of their radiation, including evolutionary relationships, temporal patterns of species diversification, and biogeographic history. Based on an integrative approach using molecular methods, morphology and geometric morphometrics, our results surprisingly suggest a basal phylogenetic position for Indian Coralsnakes and thus raise interesting implications that challenge the current scientific consensus on the early evolutionary history of elapids. The presentation will begin with a brief ‘ode’ to taxonomy and squamates before addressing the speaker’s primary research.